Chinese top leader’s State visit significant to bilateral ties

Hanoi (VNA) - Party General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping will pay a State visit to Vietnam from November 5 to 6 at the invitation of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Truong Tan Sang.

This is the highest-ranking Chinese Party and State leader’s first visit to Vietnam in nine years. It takes place as the two countries’ relations develop positively. This is reflected through regular meetings among senior leaders. During the meetings, the sides reached agreements on measures to improve bilateral ties in a stable, healthy and sustainable manner.

Co-operation between the two Parties has continued. In June, Dinh The Huynh – Politburo member, Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and Chairman of the CPV Central Committee’s Commission for Communications and Education – and Liu Qibao – Politburo member, Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee’s Secretariat and Chairman of the CPC Central Committee’s Publicity Department – chaired the 11th theoretical workshop.

The visit made by Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping is significant to Vietnam-China relations and Vietnam’s external relations. Through the visit, Vietnam aims to continue to confirm its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralism and diversification, as well as its determination to develop its ties with China on the basis of mutual respect, mutual benefits and equality. It will also protect its legitimate interests in the East Sea on the basis of international law and work with China to control disputes, and maintain peace and stability in the sea.

This year the countries have organised activities to celebrate the 65 th anniversary of diplomatic ties. Connections between their ministries, sectors and localities have been strengthened, while people-to-people exchanges have been held regularly. For example, they held the seventh conference of the joint working committee between China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Vietnam’s northern border provinces of Lang Son, Cao Bang, Ha Giang, and Quang Ninh in April. A tourism programme called “In the Footprints of Uncle Ho” was also held in Guangxi province in May.

The two countries’ economic, trade and investment relations have also grown significantly. Trade reached 49 billion USD in the first nine months of 2015, a year-on-year rise of 16 percent. Of this, 12.4 billion USD came from Vietnam’s exports.

Total investment of over 8.4 billion USD in 1,180 projects made China the ninth largest foreign investor in Vietnam at the end of last year.

China remained the country to send the most tourists to Vietnam, with 12.6 million visiting between January and September.-VNA